


#2 Afraid

by DirrtyHaruka, ScaryPunkGh0st



Series: The Walking Dead - Gallows [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Inappropriate Humor, Injury Recovery, Series, Teen Romance, The Walking Dead - Gallows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 19:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18414668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DirrtyHaruka/pseuds/DirrtyHaruka, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScaryPunkGh0st/pseuds/ScaryPunkGh0st
Summary: The recovery phase begins





	#2 Afraid

Violet’s knocks on a door were very distinctive ones.  
They were light but always very audible.  
And she always knocked two times, with the same pause between the knocks.

“Come in, Vi,” answered Clementine’s muffled voice through the door.

“I give up,” was the first thing Violet said, after she entered the room and closed the door behind her.

“Even if you would remember to knock in a different way, I would know it’s you.” Clementine smirked, tilting her head slightly to the left.  
She already sat on the bed, which was a welcomed sight to see for Violet.  
It made her heart a little lighter every time Clementine’s health seem to improve.

“Nah, you wouldn’t.” Violet leaned the crutches she brought with her onto the side of the bunk bed.

“I already know you’re at the door before you even knock, Vi.” Clementine’s smirk grew into a grin.

“Yea you’re Wonder Woman, I get it.” Violet rolled her eyes, but seemed a bit amused nonetheless.  
Clementine frowned.

“Wonder Woman?” Violet stayed silent for a few seconds, surprised.

“I need to get you some comics asap.” Violet sighed but had trouble hiding the light snickering rising in her throat.

“Enlighten me with your vast knowledge of comic books,” Clementine said a tad sarcastically, but in a playful manner.

“It’s art. Don’t make fun of it.” It was Violet’s turn to tilt her head now.

“I wouldn’t even think about it.” Clementine laughed a little.  
Violet smiled at Clementine’s laugh.  
She wouldn’t have thought that she would ever grew to be that attached to that freaking laugh.  
Granted the first time their eyes met, there was an immediate connection that Violet couldn’t really sort out at first, but she never would’ve dreamed about being with Clementine in this way.  
When she confessed to her it was…Too unbelievable for her to be the truth.  
Her thoughts jumped hoops trying to make sense of it and it needed the kiss to silence them, so she could grasp what had happened.  
In the darkness in which she had made herself too comfortable in, Clementine became her guiding light, to finally find a way out of it.  
And that light almost vanished. Just like that.

“Vi… Violet?” Clementine’s voice pulled Violet out of her thought.

“Sorry, I was daydreaming.” Clementine frowned again obvisiouly very concerned. “Everything ok?”  
Violet nodded slowly.

“Yea sure. Stop giving me that look, I’m fine.”

“Vi…“ Clementine said, softly pushing for her to talk about it, her eyebrows narrowing.

“It’s nothing, ok? Quit it!” Violet barked but immediately toned her voice down again, as soon as she saw the genuine and deep sorrow in Clementine’s face.

“Just… Please. Did you drink your water?” Violet attempted to change the subject and put the focus back onto Clementine again, who took a deep audible breath that made it obvious that she was hesitant to just drop whatever Violet was bothered by.

“Yes. See?” She lifted the bottle from the floor right beside her and shook it briefly before putting it back again.

“Good. And you’re sure you want to do that already?” Violet now took some time to really examine Clementine.  
There was no doubt that she got better since… She came back home, but she was still not back to full strength and it showed in many subtle ways.  
Regardless of that, she wanted to learn how to walk on the crutches as soon as possible.  
No matter how often Ruby or Violet said she should take her time, recover and then take the next step.  
Ruby was more strict then Violet though.  
She outright forbade Clementine to do anything that would strain her too much.  
Violet on the other hand, gave in and stole a pair of crutches from the nurses’ office and that’s where they were now.  
Her girlfriend right in front of her, sitting on the bed in a somewhat clean shirt, underwear and a bandaged stump where her left lower leg used to be attached to.  
And yet Clementine still pushed and pushed through any pain, weakness or whatever she may felt without a break.  
Violet was proud of her, without a doubt.  
But she was also deeply worried about her.  
Nevertheless Clementine seemed adamant about her plans, looking at Violet with so much confidence and fire in her eyes that she had no good reason to talk her out of it.

“I’m sure.” Clementine said rigorously, leaving no doubt that she had set her mind to it and nothing would stop her on her way to the goal she had set for herself.

“Can’t argue with that then, I guess.” Violet muttered under her breathe while getting the crutches.  
She gave one of them to Clementine, but then stopped in her tracks for a second.

“Should I… I mean… Do you want to wear anything? Ugh… Shit… I mean…“ Clementine was confused for a second but chuckled as soon as she understood what was going on.

“Do you want me to?” Clementine said with a sly grin.

“No! I… Fuck!” Violet blurted out before she started thinking.

“Fuck indeed.” Clementine giggled. Violet pulled her arms in front of her chest and rolled her eyes.  
But the annoyed act didn’t hide the honest amusement about the admittedly clever shots from her girlfriend at all.

“Eat me.” She replied with a playful smirk expecting to get an answer immediately which didn’t happen.  
Instead she got to witness Clementine’s ears changing their color to a bright red.  
Violet really tried not to but a silent laugh still got through.  
It was the first time she got Clementine to fall silent out of embarrassment.  
She bend down to her girlfriend and kissed her lovingly.

“You’re cute.” Violet whispered into Clementine’s ear.

“Idiot…“ Clementine replied quietly.

“Yea and that idiot went and put her head in a ruby colored noose to get these crutches. Come I help you up.” Violet shot her an encouraging smile.  
Clementine took a deep breath, paused and exhaled audibly before she even considered nodding.

“Ready?” Violet asked after placing her arms around her, checking more than once she really had a secured grip on her.

“Ready.” Clementine replied.  
Violet started pulling her up, as gently as she could, while Clementine tried to support herself using the crutch.  
They managed to get Clementine standing, with less hassle then they anticipated.

“Hey.” Clementine smiled, finally being able to look at her without looking up, well not as much at least but that was short lived.  
Violet barely managed to catch her girlfriend who suddenly felt 10 times heavier as soon as she lost consciousness.  
She threw the crutch still stuck under Clementine’s arm on to the floor and lifted her onto the bed.

“Fuck…Fuck!” She muttered between her teeth.

“I need something…shit…” Violet zipped around the room, collecting everything she could find and made the impression to be somewhat stackable.  
It was pure chaos when she finished the little pile on the bed but it did its job of putting Clementine’s lower body a bit higher in relation to her upper body, which was what Ruby had told her to do, should something like this happen.  
At least she could easily tell that Clementine was breathing.  
Violet sank onto her knees right back on the floor beside the bed.  
In the same spot she was in waiting for Clementine to wake up after AJ had brought her home and Ruby had taken care of her.  
The memories came back rushing. How she found herself praying, not in a religious way and not to someone in particular, but just into the void, that Clementine would wake up alive.  
The huge fight she had with Ruby about whether or not it was necessary to restrain Clementine just in case she wouldn’t make it, the breakdown she had right after where, even after all the horrible things she had said to her, Ruby held her tight for what felt like an eternity, while she cried and screamed in agony.  
She took Clementine’s Hand and squeezed it gently.  
Her Hand felt colder than her own, but still warmer than it was before.  
When Clementine’s hand squeezed back, she snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to find a pair of honey glazed, hazel eyes looking at her.

“There was no need to fall for me again, you know?” Violet tried to joke.

“Don’t.” Clementine said in a tired voice but managed to somewhat show half a smile.

“What?” Violet narrowed her eyebrows.

“You don’t want me to know how you really feel and that’s why you try to make a joke.” Clementine said slowly but with a serious tone.  
Violet opened her mouth to deny her claim, but shut it again almost immediately, averting her eyes instead.  
There was no way Clementine would take any bullshit from her. Her gaze said it all.

“I know that you don’t want to burden me with it but it’s okay. Nothing about you feels like a burden for me. Never will. If anything I might become one for you now.” Clementine’s expression went from serious to gentle in a heartbeat, causing Violet to choke back tears.

“Don’t even think that.” She had trouble fighting the tears back.  
Clementine huffed, what sounded somewhat like a half suppressed chuckle.

“Hard not to, don’t you think? But we will manage. I’m sure.” For a few moments both of them went quiet.  
The couple looked into each other’s eyes, as if the world had stopped for a while. It was Clementine’s soft smile that broke Violet’s silence.

“You already know that I’m afraid to lose you. Even the thought scared me to hell and back. But when I saw you in that wheelbarrow…I couldn’t handle it. At all.” Violet felt cold but gentle fingers wiping away tears from her face.

“Can I ask you for a favor, Vi?” Violet nodded slowly, while Clementine adjusted herself a bit.

“Sure.”

“I’m really cold. Could you lay down with me for a bit?” Normally, Violet would think about that for more than a second, but not in this situation.  
She got up, ruffled through the pile she had set up earlier to obtain something she could throw over Clementine as a second blanket, the first one being the somewhat thin wool…thing they had found in the nurses office.  
She then proceeded to carefully climb onto the bed to not hurt Clementine in some way as she laid down right beside her, after placing herself under the blankets.

“Thank you.” Clementine smiled turning onto her right side to snuggle into the embrace of her girlfriend.

“Warm enough? Or should I go f…” Violet felt Clementine’s head shaking.

“No. Just stay.” She mumbled into Violet’s shirt causing her to tighten the embrace a bit more, but not enough to hurt Clementine at all.

“Okay.” Violet just held Clementine for a while.  
Listening to her breathing, feeling her skin slowly warming up in her arms.

“There is one thing I need to know, just in case that someday my luck runs out.” Clementine’s voice was quiet but something else lingered in it that Violet had never heard before.  
She ran her fingers through thick dark hair, placing her cheek onto the top of Clementine’s head.  
Just to be one more inch closer, never wanting to let go of her again.

“What is it?”

“Would you take care of AJ?” Violet noticed Clementine’s fingers digging into her shirt and her body getting tenser in her arms, what made it clear that despite knowing that Violet would do it, she needed her to say it.  
She released her for a moment, cupping her face into her hands, guiding Clementine to turn her head and look at her.  
Violet placed a deep, loving kiss onto her lips.

“Did you ever doubt that I would?” She whispered with a reassuring but teary eyed smile.  
Clementine relaxed immediately, releasing the shirt from between her fingers.

“I just needed to hear it.” Clementine answered with a smile that washed the darkness in Violet’s head away, once again.  
She pulled her back into a close embrace.

“I will protect you and AJ with all I have. I promise.” Violet said after staying silent for a couple of minutes but no answer followed.  
Clementine’s quiet and rhythmic breathing spoke for itself.  
Violet smiled, tightened the embrace gently and closed her eyes.


End file.
